Hero's portrait fetches £12k

A TINY portrait of a British Navy hero, who once tried to burn down the White House, fetched £12,000 at auction yesterday.

The miniature of Sir Pulteney Malcolm (1768-1838), a Scottish officer from Douglan, near Langholm in Dumfriesshire, measures just 3.9in in height.

In August 1814 Sir Pulteney was third in command of a fleet which set fire to several public buildings in Washington DC, including the White House. The attack was said to be in retaliation for the American looting of York, in Upper Canada, now known as Toronto, the year previously.

Sir Pulteney went on to command a squadron in the North Sea during The Hundred Days' War, giving support to troops under the Duke of Wellington in the run-up to the battle of Waterloo. He achieved the rank of Admiral of the Blue in 1837.